by Colette Georgii

Created on: March 20, 2009

History of World Water Day

International World Water Day grew out of the Earth Summit that was held in Rio de Janeiro June 3-14, 1992 and sponsored by the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED).

The main theme of the Earth Summit was the Environment and Sustainable Development.

It was attended by 108 heads of state with 172 governments participating and 2,400 NGOs (non-government organizations) around the world. An international day to celebrate freshwater was recommended at the Earth Summit; and the United Nation's General Assembly designated March 22, 1993 as the first World Water Day.

International World Water Day has been held every year since on March 22 with a different theme based on water, ecology, the environment, women, economics, production, and sustainability. The themes each year were

1994 - Caring for our Water Resources is Everyone's Business

1995 - Women and Water

1996 - Water for Thirsty Cities

1997 - The World's Water, Is there enough?

1998 - Groundwater, The Invisible Resource

1999 - Everyone Lives Downstream

2000 - Water for the 21st Century

2001 - Water and Health

2002 - Water for Development

2003 - Water for the Future

2004 - Water and Disasters

2005 - Water for Life

2006 - Cultural Traditions using Water

2007 - Coping with Water Scarcity

2008 - Sanitation

2009 - Transboundary Waters

Each year World Water Day is organized and officiated by a branch of the United Nations. This year the main organizer is the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) with contributing organizers being the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and the The Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

Past sponsoring and contributing organizations have been UNICEF, the United Nations Division of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), WHO, the International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations Strategy for Disaster Reduction, the World Meteorological Organization, and the United Nations Water Task Force on Sanitation.

The first Earth Summit created the backdrop and framework for future environmentally based programs that found their basis in pure, clean, available freshwater.

1) Agenda 21

2) Rio Declaration on Environment and Development

3) statement of Forest Principles

4) the United Nations Framework convention on Climate Change

5) the United Nations convention on Biological Diversity

Environmental impact on economic conditions was recognized and

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